How well does Sweden really compare with other countries?

How’s life in Sweden?

Sweden performs very well in many measures of well-being relative to most other countries, according to hard data from the OECD, as presented in their Better Life Index. Sweden ranks above the average in almost all dimensions: environmental quality, civic engagement, education, work-life balance, health status, subjective well-being, jobs and earnings, housing, personal safety, and social connections.

Overall scores out of ten for Sweden?

The Better Life index compares OECD countries on eleven key topics. These 11 topics reflect what the OECD has identified as essential to well-being in terms of material living conditions (housing, income, jobs) and quality of life (community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance). Sweden scored the following marks out of 10.

1. Housing: 6.5
2. Income: 5.2
3. Jobs: 8.1
4. Community: 7.3
5. Education: 7.6
6. Environment: 9.5
7. Civic Engagement: 6.4
8. Health: 9.0
9. Life Satisfaction: 8.8
10. Safety: 8.6
11. Work Life Balance: 8.5

Sweden in detail

Here is a further breakdown of the 11 key topics, listing a range of indicators, which give more detailed information about the individual areas covered.

1. Housing in Sweden
Rooms per person: 1.8 rooms, Rank 15 / 38
Dwellings with basic facilities: 100%
Housing expenditure (As a proportion of disposable house income): 20.1% , Rank 13 / 38

2. Income in Sweden
Household net adjusted disposable income: 28 859 USD, Rank 10/38
Social Inequality: 4.14 (where a score of 1 means that there are equal conditions), Rank 11/38
Household financial wealth: 69 899 USD, Rank 9 / 38

3. Jobs in Sweden
Employment rate: 74.9%, Rank 4/38
Gender Inequality: 1.05 (where a score of 1 means that there are equal conditions), Rank 2/38
Social Inequality: 2.13 (where a score of 1 means that there are equal conditions), Rank 26/38

4. Community in Sweden
Quality of support network: 92.3%, Rank 14/38
Gender Inequality: 1.02 (where a score of 1 means that there are equal conditions), Rank 24/38

5. Education in Sweden
Educational attainment: 81.6% (percentage of people aged 25-64 with at least a high school diploma), Rank 20/38
Years in education: 19.1 years, Rank 5/38
Student skills: Score 482 (average student performance according to PISA), Rank 29/38

6. Environment in Sweden
Air pollution: 7.3 micrograms, Rank 5/38
Water quality: 95.2%, Rank 5/38

7. Civic engagement in Sweden
Voter turnout: 85.8%, Rank 5/38
Gender Inequality: 1.05 (where a score of 1 means that there are equal conditions), Rank 31/38
Social Inequality: 1.07 (where a score of 1 means that there are equal conditions), Rank 9/38

8. Health in Sweden
Life expectancy: 82 years, Rank 9/38

9. Life satisfaction in Sweden
Life satisfaction: 7.3/10, Rank 10/38
Gender inequality: 1.01, Rank 15/38

10 Safety in Sweden
Feeling safe walking alone at night: 76.8%, Rank 13/38
Homicide rate: 0.8 homicides, Rank 12/38

11.Work life balance in Sweden
Employees working very long hours: 1.1%, Rank 3/38
Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 15.2 hours, Rank 9/38

Which countries are included in the index?

Countries, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

How does your country compare?

The Better Life Index is an interactive tool designed to let you visualise and compare key factors that contribute to well-being in OECD countries. You can test out how well your country compares and create your own index at https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/

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